The Poisoned Pen held a virtual book release and surprise party for Mark Greaney’s new Gray Man thriller, Relentless. Relentless is the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen, and you can still order a signed copy through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2o92azg

Before I share the surprise for Mark Greaney, here’s the summary of Relentless.

The Gray Man’s search for missing intelligence agents plunges him deep into a maelstrom of trouble in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

The first agent disappearance was a puzzle.

The second was a mystery.

The third was a conspiracy.

Intelligence operatives around the world are disappearing. When a missing American agent re-appears in Venezuela, Court Gentry, the Gray Man, is dispatched to bring him in, but a team of assassins has other ideas. Court escapes with his life and a vital piece of intelligence.

Meanwhile, CIA agent Zoya Zakharova is in Berlin. Her mission: to infiltrate a private intelligence firm with some alarming connections. The closer she gets to answers, the less likely she is to get out alive.

Court and Zoya are just two pieces on this international chessboard, and they’re about to discover one undeniable truth—sometimes capturing a king requires sacrificing some pawns.

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Mark Greaney has a degree in international relations and political science. In his research for the Gray Man novels, including One Minute Out, Mission Critical, Agent in Place, Gunmetal Gray, Back Blast, Dead Eye, Ballistic, On Target, and The Gray Man, he traveled to more than fifteen countries and trained alongside military and law enforcement in the use of firearms, battlefield medicine, and close-range combative tactics. With Marine LtCol Rip Rawlings, he wrote the New York Times bestseller Red Metal. He is also the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tom Clancy Support and Defend, Tom Clancy Full Force and Effect, Tom Clancy Commander in Chief, and Tom Clancy True Faith and Allegiance. With Tom Clancy, he coauthored Locked On, Threat Vector, and Command Authority.

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If you watch the video, you’ll get a chance to join in on the surprise. Mark Greaney celebrates the release of his 20th book (and 10th Gray Man novel), RELENTLESS, with a star-studded group of guest authors: Don Bentley, Marc Cameron, Jack Carr, Joshua Hood and Brad Taylor.

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, had the opportunity to introduce debut Julie Carrick Dalton, author of Waiting for the Night Song. Dalton talked about the New Hampshire setting and her novel. You can order copies of the book through the Web Store, https://bit.ly/2NbwWZ4

Here’s Waiting for the Night Song.

Named a Most Anticipated book by Newsweek * USA Today * CNN * Parade * Buzzfeed * Medium * GoodReads * PopSugar * Frolic Media * Betches * The Nerd Daily * SheReads and more

“Smart and searingly passionate…an illuminating snapshot of nature, betrayal, and sacrifices set in the evocative New Hampshire wilderness.”–Kim Michele Richardson, bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

A startling and timely debut, Julie Carrick Dalton’s Waiting for the Night Song is a moving, brilliant novel about friendships forged in childhood magic and ruptured by the high price of secrets that leave you forever changed.

Cadie Kessler has spent decades trying to cover up one truth. One moment. But deep down, didn’t she always know her secret would surface?

An urgent message from her long-estranged best friend Daniela Garcia brings Cadie, now a forestry researcher, back to her childhood home. There, Cadie and Daniela are forced to face a dark secret that ended both their idyllic childhood bond and the magical summer that takes up more space in Cadie’s memory then all her other years combined.

Now grown up, bound by long-held oaths, and faced with truths she does not wish to see, Cadie must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to protect the people and the forest she loves, as drought, foreclosures, and wildfire spark tensions between displaced migrant farm workers and locals.

Waiting for the Night Song is a love song to the natural beauty around us, a call to fight for what we believe in, and a reminder that the truth will always rise.

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As a journalist, JULIE CARRICK DALTON has published more than a thousand articles in The Boston Globe, BusinessWeek, The Hollywood Reporter, and other publications. She contributes to DeadDarlings, The Writer Unboxed, and GrubStreet’s writer’s blogs. She also owns and operates a small farm in rural New Hampshire, the backdrop for Waiting for the Night Song, her debut.

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Enjoy the book chat with Julie Carrick Dalton and Barbara Peters.

Janet Skeslien Charles is the author of the hot book, The Paris Library. It’s the #1 Pick for February 2021 for Indie Next, and the #! pick for LibraryReads, selected by librarians. One of Mark Pryor’s Hugo Marston mysteries is called The Paris Librarian. With both books involving the American Library in Paris, Pryor was the perfect person to lead the conversation about Charles’ book. It might take a little time to get a copy of The Paris Library. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen said it was moving quickly. You can order it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3b6XhiZ

Here’s The Paris Library.

#1 LibraryReads Pick

Named a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by Library Journal and Goodreads

“‹“‹Based on the true World War II story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris, this is an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, and the power of literature to bring us together, perfect for fans of The Lilac Girls and The Paris Wife.

Paris, 1939: Young and ambitious Odile Souchet has it all: her handsome police officer beau and a dream job at the American Library in Paris. When the Nazis march into Paris, Odile stands to lose everything she holds dear, including her beloved library. Together with her fellow librarians, Odile joins the Resistance with the best weapons she has: books. But when the war finally ends, instead of freedom, Odile tastes the bitter sting of unspeakable betrayal.

Montana, 1983: Lily is a lonely teenager looking for adventure in small-town Montana. Her interest is piqued by her solitary, elderly neighbor. As Lily uncovers more about her neighbor’s mysterious past, she finds that they share a love of language, the same longings, and the same intense jealousy, never suspecting that a dark secret from the past connects them.

A powerful novel that explores the consequences of our choices and the relationships that make us who we are—family, friends, and favorite authors—The Paris Library shows that extraordinary heroism can sometimes be found in the quietest of places.

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Janet Skeslien Charles is the award-winning author of Moonlight in Odessa, which was published in ten languages. Her shorter work has appeared in revues such as Slice and Montana Noir. Janet first became interested in the incredible true story of the librarians who stood up to the Nazi “Book Protector” when she worked as the program’s manager at the American Library in Paris. Her novel The Paris Library will be published in seventeen countries. She divides her time between Montana and Paris. Visit her at JSkeslienCharles.com or connect with her on Twitter @skesliencharles.

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Here’s the fascinating conversation about The Paris Library, writing, and Paris itself.

There’s a combination worth eavesdropping on, Michael Koryta in conversation with Lee Child. The occasion was the virtual release of Koryta’s Hot Book of the Week, Never Far Away. The Poisoned Pen hosted the event, and Lee Child stepped in for a conversation with Koryta. You can still order copies of Never Far Away through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2wy0eIj

Here’s Never Far Away.

New York Times bestselling “master” of American thriller writing Michael Koryta returns with an electrifying new novel about a mother seeking to reconnect with her children after a terrible trial tears their family apart

Nina Morgan’s bloodstained car was found a decade ago on a lonely Florida road. Forensic evidence suggested she’d been murdered, although her body was never found. Her disappearance left her infant children to the care of their father.

Once a pilot, mother, wife, and witness to a gruesome crime, Nina had to flee her old life to save her family. She reinvented herself as Leah Trenton, a guide in the Allagash Wilderness in northern Maine. She never expected to see her children again, but now tragedy has returned them to her—only they have no idea that she’s their mother—and delivered all of them back into danger. “Aunt Leah” will need some help, and an old ally has a suggestion: an enigmatic young hitman named Dax Blackwell.

Never Far Away is a thrilling collision between old sins and new dreams, where the wills and ingenuity of a broken family will be tested against all odds.

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Here’s a conversation you’ll want to hear, Michael Koryta and Lee Child.

Just check out the upcoming virtual events at The Poisoned Pen. Once you do, you’ll want to order books by your favorite authors. You can find the books in the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

And, you can find the schedule of upcoming events right here.

From time to time, I’ve linked to Marilyn Stasio’s Crime Column in The New York Times. Yesterday, the newspaper announced Sarah Weinman will be the new crime columnist. Here is the announcement from The New York Times.

New York Times : Sarah Weinman Becomes New Columnist for Crime Fiction as Marilyn Stasio Retires 02/12/2021 | 05:08am EST We are delighted to announce that Sarah Weinman will be the new crime columnist for The New York Times Book Review. She was, of course, the most obvious suspect: Weinman is the author of ‘The Real Lolita: A Lost Girl, An Unthinkable Crime, and a Scandalous Masterpiece,’ and the editor of the anthologies ‘Unspeakable Acts: True Tales of Crime, Murder, Deceit & Obsession’ (Ecco), ‘Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s’ (Library of America) and ‘Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives’ (Penguin). A National Magazine Award finalist for Reporting, Weinman has written for The Times, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, New York magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications, while her fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and various anthologies. Weinman also writes the ‘Crime Lady’ newsletter, covering crime fiction, true crime and all points in between. Her next book – about William F. Buckley’s ill-fated advocacy for a Death Row prisoner – will be published by Ecco in 2022. Marilyn Stasio, who has written her extremely popular twice-monthly column since 1988, will continue to contribute reviews to The Times on crime, true crime and other related subjects. ‘Long before I came to work at The Times, I turned to Marilyn’s column for reading recommendations,’ says Tina Jordan, Stasio’s editor and the deputy editor of the Book Review. ‘She covered the fictional murder-and-mayhem landscape so thoroughly – not just books by big-name authors, but books in translation, books from small presses.’ In a 2017 interview with The Times on the occasion of Stasio’s 30th anniversary at the Book Review, Weinman noted that Stasio’s seriousness and longevity had transformed her into someone whom people ‘revere and fear.’Sarah Weinman’s first column appears online today and in our Feb. 14th issue.

Curious? You can order Sarah Weinman’s books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2PPeH7g

You can tell Dana Stabenow and The Poisoned Pen Bookstore owner Barbara Peters are friends, both from the enjoyment they take in their conversation, and the location of the recent virtual event, Peters’ home. The occasion is the publication of Stabenow’s latest Liam Campbell mystery, Spoils of the Dead. Signed copies of that book, and copies of Stabenow’s others, are available through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2F9m0Bq

Here’s the summary of Spoils of the Dead.

Newenham is an ice-bound bush town with a six-bed jail, a busted ATM and a saloon that does double-duty as a courtroom. It’s a wide-enough patch to warrant a state police presence, though, and Trooper Liam Campbell is it. Campbell has been exiled from Anchorage to Newenham in disgrace, busted down from sergeant to trooper in the aftermath of a mistake that cost a family of five their lives, to spend some time in the wilderness. Campbell didn’t expect the job to be simple and it hasn’t. From the (literally) cutthroat business of commercial fishing, to the paranoid misanthropy of the back-country prospector, to drug dealers, serial killers, and caches of forgotten war gold, he has had his hands full. Now he has a dead archaeologist, murdered at their own dig site, who claimed to be on the verge of a momentous discovery. Fans of the icy frontier, of mystery tinged with a frisson of romance, of laconic lawmen with good intentions, of tai chi and small aircraft piloting take note: Liam Campbell is for you.

Dana Stabenow, born in Alaska and raised on a 75-foot fish tender, is the author of the award-winning, bestselling Kate Shugak series. The first book in the series, A Cold Day for Murder, received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. 

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Enjoy the virtual event featuring Dana Stabenow.

John Hart, author of The Unwilling, recently appeared for a virtual event for The Poisoned Pen. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, introduces him as the winner of back-to-back Edgar Awards. Then, bestselling author Tami Hoag takes over the interview. The bookstore just received autographed copies of Hart’s new book. You can order his books through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/37judUr

Here’s the background of The Unwilling.

“We the unwilling, led by the unqualified to kill the unfortunate, die for the ungrateful.” —Unknown Soldier

Set in the South at the height of the Vietnam War, The Unwilling combines crime, suspense and searing glimpses into the human mind and soul in New York Times bestselling author John Hart’s singular style.

Gibby’s older brothers have already been to war. One died there. The other came back misunderstood and hard, a decorated killer now freshly released from a three-year stint in prison.

Jason won’t speak of the war or of his time behind bars, but he wants a relationship with the younger brother he hasn’t known for years. Determined to make that connection, he coaxes Gibby into a day at the lake: long hours of sunshine and whisky and older women.

But the day turns ugly when the four encounter a prison transfer bus on a stretch of empty road. Beautiful but drunk, one of the women taunts the prisoners, leading to a riot on the bus. The woman finds it funny in the moment, but is savagely murdered soon after.

Given his violent history, suspicion turns first to Jason; but when the second woman is kidnapped, the police suspect Gibby, too. Determined to prove Jason innocent, Gibby must avoid the cops and dive deep into his brother’s hidden life, a dark world of heroin, guns and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

What he discovers there is a truth more disturbing than he could have imagined: not just the identity of the killer and the reasons for Tyra’s murder, but the forces that shaped his brother in Vietnam, the reason he was framed, and why the most dangerous man alive wants him back in prison.

This is crime fiction at its most raw, an exploration of family and the past, of prison and war and the indelible marks they leave.

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Here’s the video of the virtual event with John Hart and Tami Hoag.